Winter is over, but soups can still live on. Especially if they are good hot and cold.

A couple of days ago, the night got extra chilly and I wanted something warm toast up my belly. I came across this recipe on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to try it. The vibrant colors immediately stuck out to me. I tweaked it a little to appeal more to my tastes.

To start, heat your oil ON LOW in a large pot. I prefer using my cast iron.

Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and cooked through. Keep an eye on them so they don’t start to turn brown, you just want them cooked down. I made the mistake of accidentally burning some by not paying attention and having to start this process again. Once the onions are done, add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add the curry paste and cook until everything is coated and you can begin to smell the paste.

Remove soup from heat. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Mine was unfortunately acting up, and puree as I might, I ended with a few chunks. Honestly, didn’t even care and hardly noticeable.

Once you have finished pureeing, place the soup back on the heat. Stir in the coconut milk. Add salt and additional lime juice and fish sauce to taste.

Scoop the soup out into bowls. Top with a small handful of croutons or bread chunks. Add some mint leaves for color. Eat, enjoy, repeat.

You know… for being a So Cal girl, I have really enjoyed parts of Northern California. But the one thing missing has been the incredible beach experience and accessibility you get in Los Angeles.

This past weekend, I finally got to the Nor Cal Coast with a trip to Fort Bragg for Mendocino’s annual wine tasting weekend. Staying in the stunning home of my friend Kristin, I experienced a whole other side of the Pacific Ocean, one I hadn’t done since I was a kid. It blew me away.

The rocky mountains created coves down on the beach that nestled you into the experience when the sun began to set. Creeks and streams were everywhere. The nights were calm, mornings filled with the clucking of seagulls. The air was cold, but salty. The coastline was expansive… miles of open land dipping down into tide pools, with trees swirling from the edges. It is much different than the hot, long sandy beaches in Southern California. A totally different kind of beautiful. Not to mention the drive in, where I winded through CA Redwoods in protected state forest. The forest floor was so dark and cold from the density of the trees.

The house was packed with Kristin’s family, girl friends, and five dogs. Every night her parents made a Persian feast; crispy rice, whole chickens, Khoresht Ghaimeh poured on top of fries, Salad Olivieh, homemade bread, rose water ice cream… I could go on. I had the town’s local pizza (which was incredible) and one night, Kristin’s neighbors brought crabs over caught from their boat that morning for everyone to eat.

It was the kind of weekend people were meant to spend, getting inmate, eating a lot, talking and just taking a break from all of life’s craziness.

I loved the wine tasting. But the best part of that weekend for me was the morning before, going to the tide pools a mile away from Kristin’s house.

High tide was coming up and I stood on the edge of the rocks looking out into the vast ocean. You look around and there isn’t much human influence there. It is such a recharge, a way to re-calibrate yourself. Looking down I could see the massive waves crashing against the rocks I stood on, mere feet in front of me. How easily you could be swept up.

I am so thankful for Kristin and her family for having me come along, and for the wonderful women that were there with me on the trip. The memory of this place will go down in the books.

Below is a collection of photographs from the weekend. None have been altered and all were taken with my camera phone. Really says something about the immense natural beauty.

]]>http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/03/12/my-first-fort-bragg-experience/feed/0FB_IMG_1425710573921thingsimakeinmykitchenFB_IMG_1425710573921FB_IMG_142585678217620150307_08575920150306_17042120150306_14572820150307_203047FB_IMG_142571055669420150306_162831FB_IMG_142571058990220150307_13225820150307_132246imagejpeg_0fbbimagejpeg_0fbFullSizeRenderfb20150307_092107142570423953720150307_09160720150307_08573320150306_21565220150306_18154220150306_18102820150306_18081220150306_17071320150306_17560920150306_17324320150306_17141220150306_171409Bacon Crackhttp://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/02/06/bacon-crack/
http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/02/06/bacon-crack/#commentsSat, 07 Feb 2015 00:17:44 +0000http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/?p=4583]]>The Super Bowl came and went. Patriots won and I got to eat until my heart desired. Really a win win sort of day for me.

I went to a friends for the big game, taking with me a 6lb pulled pork butt I slow roasted for 8 hours and this little concoction I saw called Bacon Crack. Essentially, it is a combination of your typical treat food and everyone’s pork product; dough, sugar, bacon, repeat!

The thing was so good I had people asking for the recipe, and one guy dumped half of the container on his plate when I was trying to leave with the remaining pieces (I made 3 batches). In fact, the item was such a hit with the men at the party that I recommend any single lady looking to snag a beau to bake him this.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grab a cookie sheet and lay out a piece of parchment paper on top of it. Place the crescent dough on the sheet and roll it out thin. Puncture the dough with a fork up and down the dough so as to not allow for air bubbles.

Next, drizzle a little bit of maple syrup on the dough. Slather the entire thing with the bacon. The maple syrup is there to get everything to stick.

Mix the brown sugar and cayenne pepper together.

Cover all the edges of the bacon dough with the brown sugar mixture.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Everything should be melted and caramelized together.

Let cool for 5 minutes. The treat should be crackly and not mushy. Cut with a pizza cutter.

We get tired. Work runs late. Kids have homework to do. It is so tempting to grab the phone and order something take out. And sometimes this is oh k, but the cost can get expensive, and the healthy options minimized. Which is why super quick recipes like this, that taste amazing, can change your weeknight family dinner. So next time you are running late, try this. The recipe can be tinkered with how many people you have in your family.

To begin, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The juiciest chicken to me is the one you pan sear and then finish in the oven.

Begin by slicing the chicken breasts lengthwise to butterfly them open. Grab a cutting board and a mallet (or jar of some kind), and pound out the chicken breast slightly so it has thinned a little.

Once the chicken has been sliced open to give you more surface area, grab your goat cheese and smear inside the chicken.

Once the cheese has been added, place pieces of the roasted pepper on one side of the chicken.

Roll them up, and secure together with toothpicks. Salt and pepper the top of the breast. Continue with the other three chicken breasts.

Add some olive oil to a pan. Once the oil it hot, place the breasts top side down (the side with salt and pepper), and cook for a few minutes until a crust forms. Once the chicken has good color, flip it and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

Once the time is done, remove the pan from the oven. Let the bird rest for a minute or two, then transfer to a board to cut. Cut lengthwise into slices, remove toothpicks, and serve.

You can serve with a side of asparagus, with potatoes, on a bed of mashed potatoes, whatever you can imagine. I ate mine with a salad that night, finishing the day off with homemade Black Bean Brownies, and a dog who thought he was going to get some treats.

Don’t worry… I gave him a bone later ;)

]]>http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/29/3-ingredient-dinner-goat-cheese-and-roasted-bell-pepper-chicken-roulade/feed/020141016_182810thingsimakeinmykitchen20141016_18281020141016_17465920141016_17500120141016_175104 (1)20141016_18093820141016_18265020141016_18320520141016_195840Better-For-You Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookieshttp://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/16/better-for-you-oatmeal-raisin-chocolate-chip-cookies/
http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/16/better-for-you-oatmeal-raisin-chocolate-chip-cookies/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2015 21:11:55 +0000http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/?p=4555]]>I’ve talked about my Gluten Free friend Sarah before. She’s incapable of eating the stuff. I find myself from time to time keeping her in mind when I make certain foods. Although I’m not Gluten free, and believe a good French bread is about the best thing you can eat, there are definite times in my life I could cut back on the white flour I consume. Think of it this way… If you could make something just as good as the original, but it was better for you, why not go ahead and eat that item, saving your “bad for you food” bank on something else?! In my life I grew up with the philosophy that everything should be eaten in moderation, but that everything should be enjoyed. I want you to remember that when making these because dammit they are good, and don’t have flour.

A first for me on this recipe was using Coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar to make the cookies. The one inference I have is the cookie seemed a little sweeter (I used equal parts), but that it also had this incredible Carmel like crust around the outside. And it is gooood. I am going to assume this has to do with the difference in sugars. Alright, here we go.

I had to make a dish for a large group this holiday season and let the grocery aisle in my local supermarket talk to me. The section of peppers was overflowing, and it got me to thinking about doing a stuffed pepper. Knowing the food journey I was about to join was set in the household of a Latino family, I kept with the theme an came up with this bad-boy.

To begin, get the sweet potatoes working. Those will take the longest to cook down and get tender. Spiral some olive oil in a medium sauce pan, small dice the sweet potato, and toss into the pan. Add a little bit of salt.

In a large saucepan, add a little olive oil. Fine dice the onion and mushrooms. Add to the pan when oil is hot and get to sweating them.

Once the onions and mushrooms have broken down, add the chorizo. Don’t forget to stir around the sweet potato during all of this.

Once the chorizo has cooked down, add the sweet potato. Mix around and cook all together.

When everything is well combined, and the potatoes are tender, turn the heat off of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab the jalapenos and core them. To do this, remove the top by cutting it off, and then take a small spoon to remove the seeds and veins from the inside of the jalapeno.

Once all 20 jalapenos are done, the filling should be cool enough to stuff. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl to get ready for the jalapenos. Grab a long baking dish and pour in the vegetable stock; it should just cover the bottom. The addition will ensure the jalapenos stay soft. Once that is done… start stuffing! Fill the peppers to the top, and a little over, with the filling.

Dip into the panko breadcrumbs. Start to layer in the baking dish, one on top of the other.

All 20 should fill the dish.

Sprinkle the peppers with the Mexican cheese blend. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes, then crank up the heat to 400 degrees for another 10. Enjoy!

]]>http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/07/chorizo-and-sweet-potato-stuffed-japalenos/feed/020141223_141654thingsimakeinmykitchen20141223_124658 (1)20141223_12445820141223_12584220141223_13083620141223_13105320141223_13385020141223_13422720141223_13434520141223_13475220141223_14071220141223_14165420141223_142028It’s 2015… Time to get the ball rolling!http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/06/its-2015-time-to-get-the-ball-rolling/
http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/2015/01/06/its-2015-time-to-get-the-ball-rolling/#commentsWed, 07 Jan 2015 00:00:52 +0000http://thingsimakeinmykitchen.com/?p=4535]]>It’s been 6 months… 6 months (!!!!) since my last post. And that is entirely my fault. Hopefully you all forgive me after what I am about to tell you.

6 months ago I left UCLA Athletics. The place was my home for the last 9 years, and in the pursuit of my dreams I bid it farewell. The decision was tough. But over a whirlwind of months, I landed with the Sacramento Kings and started my journey up north in September.

A series of physical moves. Adjustments. Starting Over. Throwing everything I knew away. And 6 months doesn’t seem that long ago. I apologize for my absence and hope that I can make it up to you.

If it is any consultation, my phone is full of photos of food. I never stopped.

It finally came. My Coolhaus ice cream cookbook. Filled with insanely delicious looking flavors (like Whiskey and Lucky Charms, Chicken and Waffles, or how about Blueberry Cobbler), the book was beautiful and colorful and just perfect for the start of summer. Of course I had to try a flavor right away, and after talking to the company’s CEO Natasha Case, she suggested a few, with Guinness ice cream sticking to my psyche. So there I went, to the store, buying a 6 pack and creams, and got home to making my take on Coolhaus’ creation.

Coolhaus also asks for a bit of instant coffee to add to your mix in order to amp up the Guinness flavor in your recipe. But I chose to forgo the coffee and play around with the dark and smokey flavor profiling in my own way. For my ice cream, instead of granulated sugar I used dark brown sugar to incorporate the rich molasas as a compliment to the beer. Here is my base:

Remember to place your bowl for the mixer in the freezer for a full 24 hours before adding anything to it. The first step is to start the base.

In a 4-quart saucepan, combine milk, cream, and half of sugar. Set over high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk your 8 egg yolks and the remaining sugar for about 1 minute. The mixture should come out smooth.

When cream mixture just comes to a boil, whisk and remove from heat. Let settle for 1 minute. Then, in a slow stream, pour half of cream mixture over yolk-sugar mixture, whisking constantly until blended. You want to be patient with this so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs.

Return the pan to stovetop over low heat with the remaining milk and cream mixture. Now, while whisking consistently, stream the yolk-cream mixture back into pan.

With a wooden spoon, continue stirring about 2 minutes. Do not heat above medium low or eggs in base will scramble. Mixture should be slightly thickened and coat back of spoon, with steam rising but not boiling. If you blow on the back of the spoon and the mixture ripples, you’ve got the right consistency.

Pour base into a clean airtight container and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours before using (use within 3 to 5 days).

Once the base has cooled, it’s time to add the extra ingredients. Add Guinness, coffee, salt, and vanilla to base. Stir until it is all incorporated.

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour into the machine according to the instructions for the maker. Do not overfill or the ice cream will not freeze.

Churn until the mixture starts to look like soft serve. Toss in the broken up Graham crackers and churn for about 30 more seconds.

Scrape into an airtight storage container. Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. Scoop it out and enjoy!

I am fortunate to have a family who can give me wonderful nibbles to take home at dinners from time to time. That’s what my dad did on Tuesday night with a hunk of delicious smoked salmon after I played trains with my little brothers for hours. But after a couple days of bagels and lox, I needed to diverge and do something else with my fish. That’s when this came to mind.

Smoked salmon can go in place of other smokey meats very well; bacon, smoked ham, etc. It holds up fabulously in dishes that you wouldn’t particularly think to try out. My dad has a great creamy smoked salmon pasta at his cafe (Smoked Salmon Fettuccine with Asparagus & Tomato in a Garlic Cream Sauce) that is out of this world. Just look at the picture below:

And while I like to believe my butt can handle that much cream on a daily basis, it can’t. But if you play around with the right things, and use good ingredients, you can create something just as tasty with less guilt. Let’s get to it.

*Note: Ancient Harvest brand is my absolute favorite. You can use other pasta substitute, like brown rice, but quinoa holds up the best.

To begin, dice up your onion, green onion, and garlic.

Add around 2tbs of olive oil to a sauce pan on medium heat. Once hot, toss in your vegetables.

*I forgot to turn on my stove light for the first set of photos…. silly me. Pardon the darkness!*

Turn a pot of water on and cook your pasta al dente per the directions on the package. It should take about 6 minutes.

Rough chop your smoked salmon. Add to the vegetables.

Cook only for a few minutes, to get everything working together, but not browned. Once together, add the half and half. Keep on medium heat and reduce the sauce.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Go lightly on the salt, as you are adding cheese near the end. This dish can take the pepper, so crank it out!

Once the pasta is finished, drain it. If the sauce has thickened, add the pasta to the salmon and vegetable sauce.

Stir all together and turn off the heat. Add the Parmesan cheese and fold everything together.

Will the pasta be creamy? Yes. Will the pasta be rich? Yes. Will you feel as guilty? No. Don’t get me wrong; eat everything you want just do it in moderation. Simple substitutions like this can give you a dish just as tasty but not as bad for you.

If you have basil, rip a few leaves apart and sprinkle on top of your pasta. Voila!

Note for this recipe; you can use a normal pan, but the cast iron gives great caramelization. And in terms of this dish, adds depth of flavor.

To begin, cook your bacon until crispy in your skillet, on about medium heat. Thick cut bacon makes the difference here, because of the fat content and the larger chunks you get in your dish later on.

Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel to soak up some of the extra grease.

Leave the bacon fat in your skillet. Keep on medium heat.

Toss those Brussels sprouts right into your bacon fat. Stir them around so they all get coated in the grease.

Cover the sprouts for about 10 minutes. This does two things; it cooks the sprouts all the way through to make them tender AND it caramelizes the bottom layer of sprouts. You are going to want that color and sweetness later on.

After 10 minutes, remove the lid and stir around. Saute for another 3 minutes.